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English
/r/as in “red”

Consonant

How to pronounce /r/ in English

The /r/ sound is an alveolar approximant, voiced, liquid consonant.

  • Voiced
  • Approximant
  • Post-alveolar

Note: This sound can also be pronounced with the tip of your tongue lowered and the body of your tongue raised towards the roof of your mouth, all while the sides of your tongue press against your upper back teeth.

Example words

Common mistakes

R sound

  • Your tongue touched or hissed near the ridge, so it came out as /z/ or /j/. Pull it back so it touches nothing.
  • Your tongue tip touched the ridge, so it came out as /l/. Keep it in the air.
  • That was a trilled R. Hold the tongue still instead of letting it flap.

How to practise

  1. American /r/: round your lips a little and curl the tongue tip up or bunch it back, without touching anything.
  2. No trill and no hiss.
  3. At the end of a word, keep the tongue in that shape to the end: "car" = "ca" + the /r/ shape.

Easily confused words

  • right · light
  • road · load
  • rock · lock
  • rice · lice

Opening clusters

  • A vowel slipped in between the consonants. Glide straight from one to the next.

How to practise

  1. Build the word from the end of the cluster: "eat" → "treat" → "street".
  2. Keep the whole cluster in one syllable, with no gap between the consonants.
  3. Never add a vowel at the front or in the middle: "street", not "suh-treet".

Easily confused words

  • pay · play
  • rain · train
  • port · sport
  • cool · school
  • top · stop

Practise /r/ with Letty

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